Earwig and the Witch is a children's novel written by Diana Wynne Jones. The story revolves around a young girl named Earwig who lives in an orphanage and is known for her cleverness and resourcefulness. Earwig's life takes a dramatic turn when she is adopted by a witch named Bella Yaga and a mysterious man named Mandrake. The book was well-received by readers and critics alike, praising its unique storytelling and memorable characters. Due to its popularity, there has been speculation about the possibility of a sequel to Earwig and the Witch. A sequel to Earwig and the Witch would provide an opportunity for readers to further explore the enchanting world created by Diana Wynne Jones.
Earwig and the witch sequel
Japanese paper The Mainichi interviewed Goro Miyazaki about his movie Earwig and the Witch, computer-generated animation, and the future of Studio Ghibli.
“With 3DCG, you try to handle the characters like dolls,” Miyazaki said. “But if you make it look too much like a doll animation, it strays from the hand-drawn anime style people are so familiar with. We were looking for the space between that.”
Allegedly his father Hayao remarked, “This country, too, has now been able to make a film to match Pixar.”
The younger Miyazaki wasn’t quite too keen on this description. “It’s like saying we worked so hard to win just once against the U.S. military. I thought, we have to find a production method unique to a small organization.”
He continued, “Isao Takahata, Hayao Miyazaki and Yoshiyuki Tomino, are, in a manner of speaking, the first generation of those who experienced the war, who saw a radical change in values. Their opposition to authority and violence began from a certain kind of resistance, and they came together to make something, to start building something new. I think it’s a kind of revolutionary mindset. But it’s not possible for those of us who were born amid the period of economic development to possess that. The answer I’ve come to now, which made me think while making movies, is found in Earwig.”
Talking about using CG again at Ghibli, he commented, “If I say I want to keep doing CG, then we’ll probably continue to do it. It’s not like it has to be CG, but I found some things I want to try.”
The possibility of a sequel to Earwig and the Witch was also brought up, seeing as how it ends with a good setup for another movie. “I feel inside myself that it’s over,” Miyazaki said. “My producer also told me because we made such good characters, there are many people who want to see a sequel, and that I should make one.”
‘Earwig And The Witch’ Director Gorô Miyazaki On The Challenging Process Of Crafting Studio Ghibli’s First 3DCG Feature
After directing the television series Ronja, the Robber’s Daughter for Japanese network NHK BS Premium, Gorô Miyazaki returned to his roots at Studio Ghibli, looking to take on his first film in “full 3DCG.”
For the son of legendary animator Hayao Miyazaki—who helped turn Ghibli into an internationally respected animation studio—that project would end up being an adaptation of Diana Wynne Jones’s novel, Earwig and the Witch.
“Hayao and [producer] Toshio Suzuki came to me with the suggestion that this novel was likely a good story for a film adaptation,” the younger Miyazaki says. “I loved the fact that the protagonist wasn’t your typical ‘good girl,’ in the sense that she’s always right, and does the correct thing. She’s very fun.”
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Gorô Miyazaki’s follow-up to the acclaimed features Tales from Earthsea (2006) and From Up on Poppy Hill (2011) centers on Earwig, a 10-year-old orphan girl in 1990s England, who grows up without understanding that her mother was a witch. After being adopted by another witch named Bella Yaga, she’s thrust into an enigmatic world of magic, coming closer to the truth of who she really is.
For Miyazaki, the process of fleshing out the visual world of Earwig was one of “trial and error,” although heading into the project, he knew how he wanted to use the medium of 3DCG. “With a lot of the animation created here in Japan, the way they use CG, the quality is always based on the approach that was done with hand-drawn animation,” he says. “So, they’re just kind of replacing the process of what they used to do manually, to having the computer do that for them.”
Not wanting the to go in that direction, the director says he also knew that he wasn’t going to try to create something “as detailed and perfected” as the work of Pixar. “Going full 3DCG, doing photoreal visuals, didn’t seem right. I gravitated more towards stop-motion animation, using puppets,” he shares. “That was more what I related to, so I referenced works by studios like Laika and Aardman, in that sense.”
In taking on 3DCG animation for the first time, there were a number of challenges with which to contend. “[One] was that I didn’t want to make visuals that would alienate the people who love Studio Ghibli films,” Miyazaki says. “We didn’t want to go too far away from what the studio’s aesthetic has always been, so we were always thinking, what can we do that would stay true to the Studio Ghibli aesthetic, but still in 3DCG?”
Another major challenge had to do with the fact that Studio Ghibli had never made a film in this style before—and therefore, they had no infrastructure at the outset to support such an endeavor. “I had to start from scratch, to create a team to take on this project, and that took a lot of time and effort,” Miyazaki notes. “On the other hand, all the people around us didn’t understand what exactly we were doing because it was so foreign to them. So, in that sense, it gave us a lot of freedom to do whatever we wanted, without people interfering.”
On the level of craft, the director also had to get used to the specific limitations that come with a 3DCG pipeline—figuring out, for example, how to achieve the right balance of brightness and contrast to fit each scene. “A lot of times, the story is set in a very dark room, and we have the characters performing in these dark environments, so it was very hard to find the right brightness or darkness,” he says. “When you make it too bright, it shows the entire room and it’s too revealing, and it’s not really good, and then if it’s too dark, you’re only staring at a very dark screen. So, all through the process, it was very hard to find the right brightness.”
Looking back now on his time with Earwig, Miyazaki finds that one of the highlights was the voiceover process he engaged in with his Japanese cast. “In creating animation, a lot of the process is very meticulous planning, and building things, one thing after the other, so there’s not much space for spontaneity or improvisation,” he says. “The liveliness and the spontaneity, we can only add through the music or the voiceovers, so when we have actors that come in and contribute, on the spot, with ad-libs and improvisation, that adds a whole new richness to the film.”
The other highlight, of course, was bringing Studio Ghibli through all the logistical, technical and creatives challenges that came with the 3DCG transition. “I think the strength and the beauty of 3DCG animation is the [breadth], the diversity of how much acting and performance you can pull out of a character,” he says. “I really enjoyed [crafting] the sequences where Earwig is doing a lot of different expressions, and showing different emotions—basically, acting.”
In terms of a next project, Miyazaki is undecided. What is clear, though, is that we probably won’t be seeing an Earwig and the Witch sequel any time soon. “I’ve heard a lot of people who’ve seen this film saying, ‘Are you making a sequel?’ And that’s a little troubling for me,” the director deadpans. “It took four years to make this film, and when you think of spending your next four years doing a sequel, while it’s appealing, I’m not that young.
“So, I would rather spend my time doing something challenging,” he adds, “something new.”
Earwig and the Witch – Quick Movie Review
It has taken me a while to finally muster up the will to watch “Earwig and the Witch,” since, like most Studio Ghibli fans, I found the trailer to be lackluster. However, even though I started streaming the film with a lot of bias in mind, the first half was surprisingly enjoyable!
Based on the children’s novel of the same name by Diana Wynne Jones, the 2020 animated movie directed by Goro Miyazaki begins with a weird blue-haired witch leaving a baby named Earwig in front of an orphanage. Consequently, little Earwig grows into a spunky little troublemaker who is everybody’s favorite and loves her life at the orphanage. But when she is adopted by a mean intimidating witch-wizard couple Bella Yaga and Mr Jenkins, Earwig does her best to win them over and learn some magic herself.
The computer generated animation obviously lacks the charm and warmth of the usual Studio Ghibli creations, but it’s decent enough for a children’s film. I really enjoyed watching one of the initial scenes of Earwig and her friends running around in a cemetery dressed up like ghosts. It reminded me of my boarding school days, where the favorite pastime for us kids was to swap scary tales and stir up trouble. However, a lot of scenes were too plastic and plain, like an AI has generated all of it. It’s Earwig’s patient personality that kept me invested in the tale, she isn’t the usual tantrum throwing little brat who is always up to no good. While she does indulge in some mischievous behavior, she also works hard for Bella Yaga, hoping to learn some tricks of the trade in return.
The second-half of the film moves far too slowly, with little progress in Earwig’s adventures with magic, although she does start to like Bella Yaga and Mr Jenkins a little. A few brief flashbacks that were inserted in the runtime to give some insights into the child’s family history, but those scenes leave viewers with far more questions than answers. For example, Earwig’s mother is shown to be a lead vocalist in a band, but she suddenly stops playing and then disappears. Adult viewers can still guess what might have happened with the young woman, but since it’s targeted at pre-teen viewers, the plot can be very confusing for kids. Music is a big theme in the story, however the background score was a letdown. All the songs are all extremely generic, forgettable and sound like they are from a wannabe cover band.
The most disappointing about “Earwig and the Witch” is that is just suddenly and abruptly ends, leaving viewers feeling like they’ve only seen half the story. What happened to Earwig’s mother? We don’t really get to know. Maybe Goro Miyazaki and team were hoping to make a sequel if “Earwig and the Witch” did well, which is why they didn’t give viewers a concrete ending and that’s a gamble that really did not pay off. I would actually watch a sequel, if one ever gets made in the future, because “Earwig and the Witch” does have some fun characters, an endearing protagonist, and even with an interesting story, it’s just not executed too well.
Rating: 6 on 10. You can stream the film on Netflix.
A sequel to Earwig and the Witch would provide an opportunity for readers to further explore the enchanting world created by Diana Wynne Jones. It could delve deeper into Earwig's life with her newly adopted parents and the challenges she continues to face in her magical surroundings. The sequel could also introduce new characters and storylines, allowing readers to embark on another thrilling adventure alongside Earwig.
It could expand on the magical elements already present in the first book or introduce entirely new magical concepts and creatures. Furthermore, a sequel could provide closure to some of the unanswered questions and unresolved plotlines from the first book. It could explore the origins and motivations of characters such as Bella Yaga and Mandrake, shedding light on their complicated relationship with Earwig. Overall, a sequel to Earwig and the Witch has the potential to captivate readers young and old, further immersing them in the magical world created by Diana Wynne Jones. It would allow for further character development, plot exploration, and the continuation of a beloved story. Fans of the first book would undoubtedly be excited to see what new adventures await Earwig and her witchly family..
Reviews for "A New Adventure Begins: The Sequel to Earwig and the Witch"
1. Ashley - 2 stars - I was really disappointed with "Earwig and the witch sequel". The story lacked any depth and the characters were underdeveloped. It felt like a rushed attempt to cash in on the success of the original. The animation style was also a letdown, with stiff movements and lackluster visuals. Overall, it didn't live up to my expectations and I wouldn't recommend it to fans of the first movie.
2. Daniel - 1 star - I absolutely disliked "Earwig and the witch sequel". The plot was convoluted and confusing, making it hard to follow and enjoy. The new characters introduced were uninteresting and didn't add anything significant to the story. The animation, unlike the first movie, felt cheap and poorly executed. It's safe to say that this sequel was a major letdown and I wouldn't waste my time watching it again.
3. Emily - 2.5 stars - As a fan of the original "Earwig and the witch" movie, I was really looking forward to the sequel, but unfortunately, it fell short for me. The storyline had potential, but it lacked the charm and magic of the first film. The pacing felt off and the ending was unsatisfying. While the animation was decent, it didn't make up for the disappointments in the overall execution. I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed and wished the sequel had captured the same enchanting essence of the original.